Rodney Harrison: Tom Brady a better leader than Peyton Manning

NBC hired Harrison and former Colts coach Tony Dungy on Wednesday to work on its Sunday night NFL telecast. And his first major pronouncement as an analyst: That Tom Brady is a better leader than Peyton Manning.

Harrison pointed to Manning's recent criticism of the Colts in the wake of the departure of coaches Tom Moore and Howard Mudd. I'm not sure everybody's on the same page in this building," Manning said. "I'm just trying to focus on playing quarterback well."

Manning may have been upset, but Harrison said he was wrong to have aired his concerns publicly.

"This is something I've discussed with coach Dungy and I think it gives Tom Brady the edge over Peyton Manning in terms of leadership," Harrison said. "If this went on in New England, it wouldn't come out publicly. He wouldn't make a big fuss over it.

"So many guys are looking up to (Peyton) that once they sense panic, they get nervous. You have to control your emotions and not allow these things to get outside the walls. I have a lot of respect for Peyton Manning, but this is a guy that needs to control his emotions."

Dungy, on the conference call with Harrison, stepped in to disagree with the former safety and said Manning's remarks didn't necessarily reflect "panic."

But Harrison persisted.

"As a player, it's your job to play football," he said. "This is OTAs. It's not even minicamp yet. There is no sense of panicking. These things can be worked out. He's been running the same offense for 11 years, it's not like it's new to him. That disappointed me, for him to publicly come out and say things. I thought it was a sense of panic."Hat tip: Boston Globe

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About Nate Davis

Nate Davis is a reporter, blogger and editor who's been at USA TODAY since 2000. He has covered the NFL since 2005. No, he did not play quarterback for Ball State. Davis' succession of our esteemed colleague Sean Leahy at The Huddle is considered a Brady-for-Bledsoe swap by most "insiders."More about Nate